myhamptons mag

Gotcha'!!

Welcome to the Hamptons! Have our leaders become so  immersed in the day to day stress of their lives that they don't see that they are creating the sensation of a police state. This past week alone I've seen police helicopters and three squad cars circling all around Bridgehampton Village, a blockade of Main St. in East Hampton by police to check any passing motorist's papers, a cop in the exact pose of this sign trying to catch unsuspecting parents as they drove on a 25 mph zone on the way to baseball practice (actually the disappointment on his face as car after car went by at 25 mph  was quite humorous) and now this marvelous bit of photography as all our visitors arrive for their weekend of relaxation. At least Linda Kabot has said the town will think about taking the horrible things down if enough people complain. Please everybody complain - we want to be known as a friendly, hospitable place. 

Interestingly, I've been talking about the pervasive presence of traffic police out here for the last month but I thought maybe I'm out of touch since no one seems to think its such a big deal. But last week I did my own informal survey of  people who spend a lot of time in their cars, driving in the suburbs and small towns etc. I asked if police ever did blockades to check for vehicle documents etc. like they do here. To a person they looked at me as if I was crazy and reminded me that this wasn't stalinist Russia, the Berlin wall was torn down, we were living in America. So I repeat why are our police encouraged to overdo it like this. Traffic laws are meant to make everyone live together more easily not to scare us or provide a source of revenue. The vast majority of citizens follow the laws and they should feel comfortable with the police and not subjected to threatening signs or scary blockades. 

 

www.myhamptons.us - kara

Hamptons Rentals Look for Surge in European Clients

The Euro has turned the tables on the Dollar and Europeans are enjoying their new found buying power. According to the Daily News this weekend, German, French and British vacationeers are picking up Hamptons rentals at what feels like bargain prices. $125,000 for an East Hampton or Southampton rental used to mean around 175,000 euros to our overseas friends but with the dollars reversal of fortune it now means 75,000 euros and foreigners are filling the void created by the banking fiasco's effect on the Hampton's usually reliable and money-laden New York banker.

Of course this just adds to the curious and little known dilemna of the Hampton's overseas visitor. They can't drive in the two biggest villages, East Hampton and Southampton. So now not only will the villages clean up on their new permit and tax regimen on rentals but just think of all the increased traffic violation revenues. But I still ask what about the insurance repercussions of the bizarre US driver's license-only rules. Now the really rich celebrity foreigners don't pose a problem after all a car accident victim can go after american assets but what about all the other normal foreigners here just for two weeks what recourse will an accident victim have with them when the insurance company won't pay up because they were, in fact, unlicensed drivers.

Is it just me that sees the problem here.

www.myhamptons.us - kara

East Hampton Police and Foreign Drivers

This is a follow up to our previous post "Paul McCartney Arrested in the Hamptons???". Several people have commented and questioned the veracity of the story. I don't blame them. It seems unbelievable that a village that depends on the tourist trade and summer visitors and touts itself as an international vacation nirvana up there with the French Riviera would enact such an obviously xenophobic law. But I assure you it is true. I watched as an East Hampton Village Police Sergeant very cordially explained the law to my friend as he wrote him up a ticket for being an unlicensed driver even though his driving license issued in a friendly european country was up to date. Even though the policeman admitted the ludicrous nature of the law he said it was a law and he was sworn to enforce it.

He recounted several stories of europeans arrested and ticketed for violating the aforesaid restriction on driving. He especially got a kick out of one story: a wealthy englishman who having rented a beachfront home for over a hundred thousand dollars flew into Kennedy picked up his $1000 a week Mercedes rental and drove into East Hampton Village to pick up the house keys from the agency whereupon he was stopped by the police and issued a ticket for unlicensed driving. Now the officer didn't say why the guy was stopped originally. The police don't lie in wait in some kind of rental agency speed trap hoping to overhear a foreign accent and follow them out to their cars. I don't think?.

Foreign Nationals can drive in the villages if they get US issued licenses. A pretty impractical solution. Is this legal? Would it hold up in a higher court if challenged? I don't know. I assume the US must have some kind of treaties about driver privileges between allies but I don't know for sure. And who is going to pursue it - not the hispanic worker (I suspect it was meant to harass) and not the vacationing european who will either pay the fine and be done with it or skip court and just never come back.